THIS TEAM, THIS MOMENT

The Havre High girls basketball team is no stranger to the Class A state tournament, but the 2018 version will be different than any of the trips, because this time, the Blue Ponies are the heavy favorite.

And after an 18-0 regular season and three more wins to capture the Eastern A Divisional championship, it's easy to see why. Another edge for Havre (21-0) is the fact that the state tournament will be just down the road in Great Falls, at the Four Seasons Arena, the same location where HHS won its last state championship in 2014. The Ponies will open the tournament against Hamilton, in a rematch of the 2014 championship game. Their quarterfinal matchup will tip-off Thursday at 12:30 p.m.

"It's great for us," HHS head coach Dustin Kraske said. "It will give the community a chance to come see us play. It's only two hours away and the roads are good, the weather should be a little nicer. We are really excited about playing this close to home."

As much as the Ponies might want to avoid it, it's hard not to compare this season with 2014, with one key difference, this Havre squad comes in perfect and is the first Pony basketball team, boys or girls, to enter both divisionals and state undefeated. The 21-game win streak to start the season is also the longest in school history and three more wins would set this team apart from any other in the history of Havre basketball.

"It's hard for me to think about that," Kraske said about going undefeated. "I guess talk to me about it Saturday night if it happens. I just know that it's an incredibly hard thing to do and who wouldn't want to be a part of that?"

Throughout the season, the Ponies have proven themselves to be a cut above the competition, winning their 21 games by an average of 24 points. HHS finished the regular season with the second-best offense in Class A (60.1 ppg) and the second-ranked defense behind Hamilton, with an average of 36.1 points allowed per game. While the Broncs boast the top-ranked defense in Class A, they average around 49 point per game and rank fourth in Class A in 3-point field goals.

"They are a really nice team," Kraske said. "They have the (Cariann) Kunkel kid, she's a really nice player that works hard around the basket. I am totally impressed with her. They shoot a ton of 3-pointers, at least they have in the games that we have watched, so their guard play is good, too. They are a solid team, we are looking forward to playing them."

While the Broncs are a threat from beyond the arc, no team in Class A girls basketball connected more triples than the Ponies, who averaged 4.7 makes from beyond the arc per game. Havre not only made more 3-point shots than anybody, it also had the best 3-point percentage in Class A at 33 percent. A big part of that has been the stellar perimeter shooting of Marca Herron and Kyndall Keller. Herron is hitting 44 percent on her shots from deep and Keller is knocking down 41 percent.

In addition to being a prolific 3-pointer shooter, Keller might just be the best offensive player in Class A. She ranked second in the state with 18.1 points per game this season and was also second in free throw attempts. The sophomore is a huge part of what the Ponies do offensively, but she is part of a multi-pronged attack that also features Danielle Wallace (10 ppg) Herron (8.8 ppg), Kaylee Nystrom (6.7 ppg), Kadia Miller (4.6 ppg) and Kyley Verploegen (4.4 ppg).

On the defensive end, Nystrom is a spark plug who ranks fourth in the state in steals and is fifth in assists coming in. She leads a defense that has allowed more than 40 points just four times this season and more than 50 points twice, both to Browning, a team Havre could meet in the semifinals. Browning is among a slew of teams such as Columbia Falls, Hardin and Butte Central, that along with Havre and Hamilton, Kraske said, he believes are capable of winning the state title.

"I think there are probably six teams that have a chance," Kraske said. "I don't know if there is a team that stands out, maybe it's us, but I know that when our kids stick together and play well together, we are tough to beat."

Beyond playing well, for most of the season, the Ponies have dominated. Only five teams have managed to stay within single digits and six point wins against CMR and Rocky Boy remain the closest Havre has come to being defeated. No Class A team has played Havre closer than seven points. HHS is also 6-0 against other teams at the state tournament with wins over Browning (2), Belgrade (2), Hardin and Glendive, by an average of 15 points.

"I think all the year our focus has always been on us getting better," Kraske said. "And I hope that never changes. We focus a little bit on Hamilton or the other teams we play, but our focus should continue to be, how do we get better?"

The Ponies might come into the state tournament as the favorites, but they have also known disappointment the past few seasons, coming up one win shy of Saturday night at the state tournament the past three years, including losses in the semifinals to Hamilton and Columbia Falls in 2015 and 2017. The last Havre team to play Saturday night at the state tournament was the 2014 team and Kraske said to get to that point, the biggest key is staying together.

"It's really important that you stick together," Kraske said. "Winning games at the state tournament isn't easy. It's about matchups and getting hot. You really have to grind it out and I think that team did a really great job of sticking together. That's what we need to do this week."

If the Ponies can do that, they will have the chance to deliver Havre High its fifth state championship in girls basketball and third since 1997. It would also be the second in the last five years and the second straight at the Four Seasons Arena in Great Falls.

"We played pretty well there before," Kraske said. "It will be fun to have the chance to do it again."

Through 21 games, the 2018 Havre girls have done things no other basketball team in Havre High has done before. In fact, the Ponies have done everything they have set out to do such as winning the Central A regular season title and the Eastern A Divisional championship. But all along, there has been another goal, one that will take three more victories to achieve.

"We just want to come in, make a name for ourselves," Herron said. "We just want to take it game by game. We know it would be really cool for the town of Havre. It's not often that a girls athletic team succeeds above the rest and we just want to leave our mark on Havre High."

Havre will play Hamilton Thursday in the opening game of the Class A state tournament. Tip-off time is set for 12:30 p.m. The Class A state championship game is scheduled for Saturday night at 8.